PDC Player Darts & Gear Guide 2026 — What the Pros Use

The Anatomy of a Professional Dart

A steel-tip dart has four main components, each of which affects how the dart flies and how it feels in the hand:

• Barrel — the part you hold. Usually made from tungsten, which is dense enough to allow a narrow barrel at a given weight. Grip patterns (knurled, ringed, smooth) affect how the dart releases from the fingers.
• Shaft (stem) — connects the barrel to the flight. Can be short, medium or long. Length affects the dart’s angle of flight. Some players prefer spinning shafts to reduce deflections.
• Flight — creates drag to stabilise the dart in the air. Standard flights are large and provide more stability; slim flights allow tighter groupings but require a more consistent throw.
• Point (tip) — the steel tip. Fixed on most professional darts, though some offer moveable points which can reduce bounce-outs on close groupings.

What Weight Darts Do Professionals Use?

The most common weight range on the PDC circuit is 21g to 26g, with the majority of players settling between 22g and 24g. Weight is one of the most personal aspects of dart selection — what feels comfortable and controllable for one player will feel completely wrong for another.

Heavier darts (25g+) tend to require less power in the throw and can feel more stable. Lighter darts (under 22g) allow a faster throw but require more precision. Neither is universally better — the goal is to find a weight that complements your natural throwing motion.

The PDC sets a maximum weight of 50g and a maximum length of 30.5cm for competition darts, so there is wide latitude within the rules. In practice, professional players rarely approach these limits.

Barrel Shape and Grip

Barrel shapes broadly fall into three categories:

• Straight barrels — consistent diameter along the full length, good for players who grip the dart near the middle
• Torpedo (bomb) shape — wider in the middle, tapering to each end. Some players find the natural grip point more intuitive.
• Front-weighted — more mass toward the point, which can affect the dart’s angle in the board

Grip preference — smooth, lightly ringed, heavily knurled — is equally personal. Players who release the dart smoothly often prefer less grip; those who prefer more control during the throw may opt for a more aggressive knurl pattern.

What the Top PDC Players Specify

Each PDC player’s individual dart specifications — brand, weight, and barrel details — are displayed on their player profile pages where the information is available from the PDC data feed. Visit any player profile on this site to see their current setup under “Player Details”.

Shop Official PDC Player Darts

Arrowheadzis one of the UK’s leading PDC player merchandise retailers, carrying official signature collections for a wide range of PDC tour players. If you want the same model dart that a specific professional uses — or simply want official licensed merchandise — the Arrowheadz player collections are the place to look.

Flights: Shape and Material

The flight is responsible for aerodynamic stability. Standard (large pear-shaped) flights provide the most stability and are forgiving of slight throw inconsistencies — a good choice for developing players or those who want a predictable, stable trajectory.

Slim flights reduce drag and allow for tighter groupings, but require a more consistent, fluid throwing action. Many top professionals move to slimmer flights as their game matures.

Material also matters: standard polypropylene flights are inexpensive and widely available. Dimpled flights (similar in concept to a golf ball surface) can also provide additional stability. Most PDC players’ branded flights are available as part of their official merchandise collections.

Shafts: Length and Material

Shaft length affects the angle at which the dart enters the board. Longer shafts tend to produce a flatter trajectory with more in-flight stability; shorter shafts reduce air resistance and can suit a faster, flatter throw.

Aluminium and nylon shafts are both widely used. Spinning shafts — where the flight end rotates independently of the barrel — can help deflect incoming darts on close groupings rather than causing a full bounce-out. Many professionals use spinning shafts for this reason.

Finding Your Setup

There is no shortcut to finding the right setup — it requires experimentation. The most useful approach is to start with a mid-weight (around 23g), medium-length shaft, standard flight combination and adjust from there. Buy darts of the same length with different weights where possible to isolate the effect of each change.

If you want a starting point based on what works for the world’s best players, picking up a signature set from a player whose style you admire is a reasonable approach. Their specs are available on their player profiles on this site, and their official signature darts are available through Arrowheadz.

Frequently Asked Questions